Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A passing down or descent through successive stages of time or a process.
  • noun Transference, as of rights or qualities, to a successor.
  • noun Delegation of authority or duties to a subordinate or substitute.
  • noun A transfer of powers from a central government to local units.
  • noun Biology Degeneration.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of rolling down.
  • noun The act of devolving, transferring, or handing over; transmission from one person to another; a passing or falling to a successor, as of office, authority, or real estate.
  • noun In Scots law: The reference made by two or more arbiters who differ in opinion to an oversman or umpire to determine the difference.
  • noun The falling of a purchase made under articles of roup to the next highest offerer, on the failure of the highest bidder to find caution for payment of the price within the time limited by the articles.
  • noun The opposite of evolution; degeneration.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare The act of rolling down.
  • noun Transference from one person to another; a passing or devolving upon a successor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A rolling down.
  • noun A descent, especially one that passes through a series of revolutions, or by succession
  • noun The transference of a right to a successor, or of a power from one body to another.
  • noun pejorative Degeneration (as opposed to evolution).
  • noun UK The transfer of some powers, and the delegation of some functions, from a central sovereign government to local government; eg. from Westminster to Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the delegation of authority (especially from a central to a regional government)
  • noun the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin dēvolūtiō, dēvolūtiōn-, from Latin dēvolūtus, past participle of dēvolvere, to roll down, fall to; see devolve.]

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Examples

  • GeorgeBurnsWasRight: Wouldn't the term devolution be more appropriate than evolution to

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2012

  • This last option is known as "devolution plus" or, at its most ambitious, "devolution max".

    Scottish devolution: what questions will future referendum ask voters? 2011

  • The creation of this new "21st Century devolution" is as good as a time as any to ask for the real opinion of the Scottish people.

    Calman- "imaginative" and "bold"? O'Neill 2009

  • The Roberts Report, which commits the Tories to yet another full-scale review of devolution, is personally humiliating for Nick Bourne who has spent the last decade trying to convince us all that the Tories really have changed.

    Blood on their hands 2008

  • The Roberts Report, which commits the Tories to yet another full-scale review of devolution, is personally humiliating for Nick Bourne who has spent the last decade trying to convince us all that the Tories really have changed.

    Archive 2008-11-01 2008

  • Obviously now devolution is even more deeply entrenched with the situation in Scotland and Wales.

    Twelve months on.... O'Neill 2008

  • Brown has made some pretty dumb decisions: pressing for devolution is one of them.

    Archive 2008-06-29 2008

  • The only thing, did you notice as I did that the promoted few, Wayne and Chris, Mark and Ian tend to share the same vision as far as devolution is concerned as the Secretary of State Paul Murphy and his bosom friend, the former Under-Secretary of State Don Touhig?

    Hain's letter 2008

  • Brown has made some pretty dumb decisions: pressing for devolution is one of them.

    Glasgow East: The Gibbett From Which To Hang McStalin? 2008

  • The whole point of devolution is to stand up for the people of Wales and not bow down to the first challenge from a group of MPs more interested in their cosy London jobs, than the needs of this nation.

    Too Blue 2008

Comments

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  • The Truth about De-Evolution.

    April 18, 2008

  • "Oh, dad; we're all devo!"

    April 18, 2008

  • What is it about Texas? Texas is Only 6000 Years Old!

    May 8, 2009

  • It's strange, I live in Texas and almost nobody is that crazy. It is a matter of a few batshit people who care a great deal running essentially unopposed that are screwing it up for the rest of us. Either that, or I've driven away anyone willing to argue with me so that it seems that people around me all think like I do.

    May 9, 2009

  • It's just...so...clear now.

    May 23, 2009